1. Filed of the Invention
The present invention relates to an electrical connector and more particularly to an electrical connector having a handle for facilitating removal of the connector from a printed circuit-board of an electronic instrument such as a notebook computer.
2. Prior Art
In small electronic instruments such as a notebook computer, a personal digital assistant (PDA), etc, a flexible printed circuit or a so-called flat ribbon cable is used. Such a circuit or a cable is attached to an electrical connector that is mated to a connector mounted on a printed circuit-board or a motherboard of the electronic instrument. Such electronic instruments are recently designed as small as possible so as to be easily carried to places. As a result, the internal space is severely limited, and devices installed in such a limited space are designed to be compact. Thus, a connector body of the electrical connector installed in such a limited space of, for instance, notebook computers is designed as compact as possible. This causes several problems. One of the problems is that pulling out or unplugging of such a compact component, for instance, an electrical connector with a cable, from the connector of the printed circuit-board of a notebook computer is very difficult. When such a component is forced to be unplugged in an awkward fashion, the component can be easily broken.
Accordingly, the object of the present invention is to provide a structure that facilitates removal of an electronic component such as an electrical connector used in a small size electronic instrument such as a notebook computer, a personal digital assistant (PDA), etc.
The above object is accomplished by a unique structure for an electrical connector (merely called xe2x80x9cconnectorxe2x80x9d) that has a removing means from a limited space.
More specifically, the connector of the present invention is comprised of a connector body and substantially an inverted U-shaped handle body with its pair of leg elements being engaged with socket elements formed on the connector body to which a cable such as a ribbon cable is connected. The leg elements can be bent at substantially mid points thereof so as to reduce the height of the handle body to be installed in narrow interior space of, for instance, a notebook computer.
With the structure above, the connector engaged with the connector of a printed circuit-board of, for instance, a notebook computer can be easily unplugged by way of pulling the handle body attached to the connector body and not by pulling the connector body or the cable so that damage to the connector, the cable or the connector of the printed circuit-board is prevented. In addition, with the bent leg elements, the height of the handle body can be low so that the connector can fit within the limited interior space of compact electronic equipment, such as a notebook computer.